Surviving The Assault on Private Sector Careers in America

Start Locally, Finish Prestigiously

Here is my third strategy to make college affordable in the face of the economic meltdown. I call it Start Locally, Finish Prestigiously.

Over the years, I’ve seen people back into this strategy because they either couldn’t get into a college they liked, or simply weren’t ready to commit big bucks without a specific career goal.

Those are still both good reasons to adopt this strategy, but the third is even more appropriate in 2009. This is one of the best strategies for getting a top notch college degree at a 50% discount!

Rather than take on a fat loan for four years of private school tuition, start your education in a local community college and transfer to the prestigious school you want to attend in your junior year. It may not be quite as much fun, but it can cut the cost of a college education in half.

The New York Times recently highlighted a story about a young woman named Reshma Tharani who did just that.

Reshma Tharani

Her career goal was to teach either especial education or elementary school. She had another goal. She had her heart set on graduating from New York University, one of the most expensive colleges in the United States.

Instead of taking out a huge loan than she might never be able to pay back on a teacher’s salary, she started her college education at Nassau Community College. She commuted from home and completed all of core requirements for about $2,000 per semester.

In her junior year she transferred into NYU and got her degree for almost half of the cost of a full four years.

Keep in mind that the first two years of college are almost exclusively dedicated to fulfilling so-called “core requirements.” In most cases these classes are no more than an AP high school class. You pay nothing for a high school AP credit, why pay thousands of dollars for the same class in a prestigious college?

You may also find that it’s much easier to get into your school of choice as a transfer student, rather than an incoming freshman.

Of course, this strategy flies in the face of young people’s desire to “get out of the house,” and there is a lot to be said for pure joy of campus life. However, I can tell you from personal experience, that campus life gets old after one or two years. If you wait until your junior year to move out and live on campus, you’ll still get your fill of the college life.

Finally, the quality gap between private colleges and state university has closed considerably. You may discover that you’re better off simply completing your degree at a local college.